Purely in terms of development this was certainly the most important episode of Mirai Nikki yet. It was also the first time I felt the anime’s version of events lacked a little bit of the punch the manga packed.

They’re really pulling out all the stops now, as what looked like four Servants standing off against one another suddenly became six. I don’t recall that ever happening in Fate/stay night. With the way they were assessing the situation and feeling one another out, it could’ve easily turned into a free-for-all battle royal.

You know, I tried to go with the flow of this episode and see Makoto as a girl — I really did — but it’s so damn hard to. It’s like they designed her character so well that it’s practically impossible to her any other way. Sorry Makoto, you’ll forever be the idol prince who dreams of being a princess.

Rock Over Japan! It feels like ages since I heard that song (nine episodes in fact). It’s just too bad this episode didn’t confirm or deny my interpretation of what happened to Yuri. Instead, it raised some new questions, the biggest of which was, “What the heck did I just watch?”

Almost one year ago, I said in my coverage of Itsuwari no Utahime that I considered a trip to Japan to coincide with the theatrical release of Sayonara no Tsubasa. I can definitively say now that it would’ve been well worth it, as the second movie shuffles the story around more and features brand-new jaw-dropping animation. Movie-quality visuals backed by an epic soundtrack by Kanno Youko and new songs by May’n and Nakajima Megumi, plus a conclusion where Alto finally picks one of the songstresses? What more could a longtime Macross fan possibly ask for?

Spoiler warning: This post (minus the screen caps) is purposely free of major spoilers. There’s no summary of the plot, the final battle, or the ending. Still, I mention some specific developments, so it’s not recommended for those who don’t want to be spoiled at all.

Another day, another awakening. Sure, I enjoyed this episode of Hanasaku Iroha: Persona 4 Edition, but at the rate the story is progressing, I’m beginning to lose sight of the series’ central premises.

It’s somewhat regrettable that I may have inadvertently hyped Guilty Crown too much — at least for our regular readers — because rather than impressing audiences with everything that the series does well, it’s now struggling to live up to everyone’s high expectations.